


get a grip

by moondaisies



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Im like TT, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Pining, what is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-03
Updated: 2017-01-03
Packaged: 2018-09-14 12:51:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9182518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moondaisies/pseuds/moondaisies
Summary: taeyong has a lowkey ( highkey ) crush on sicheng.





	

**Author's Note:**

> my first work for nct !!! kinda rushed to post this bc the lack of taewin fics here is sad ;-; sorry for any mistakes !!!

 

  
"He's right there," Jaehyun says in a monotone voice, gesturing to the other side of the library where Sicheng sits, a pair of glasses perched on his nose and a number two pencil between his lips like a cigarette as he stresses over the upcoming project he's working on. "When do you plan on talking to him?"

Taeyong takes a not-so subtle peek at the brunette over his thick chemistry textbook, which by the way, is upside down (but Jaehyun won't tell him that), as he shrugs his shoulders, "When he isn't busy anymore."

Jaehyun stares at him with a blank look. Taeyong blinks once. Twice. Jaehyun opens his mouth to speak only to close it again. "So you just dragged me here to stare at him?" Jaehyun finally asks, his eyes locked on Taeyong's shifty ones.

"I did." He mumbles. Taeyong is not gonna deny the fact that he did just rudely interrupt Jaehyun's weekly math circle study group by tugging the younger's arm, then dragging him to the other side of the building just so he can catch a glimpse of Sicheng badly cut and paste crooked paper stars on his project. He's not ashamed, at least not anymore, he has already acknowledged the fact that he has a massive crush on the brunette. He lost his dignity weeks ago, his friends stealing his phone and logging into his spotify account, finding a three hour forty seven minute long playlist dedicated to the one and only Dong Sicheng. His friends call him Taeyong Swift. His most played song is You Belong With Me. As said before, Taeyong is not ashamed.

"Are you sure you're not gonna talk to him?" Jaehyun asks in a whisper, noticing that Sicheng has stood up from his seat and is shoving his books into his backpack. "He's a sweet kid, talking to him won't hurt you." And of course Jaehyun knows that, he and Sicheng are classmates in three classes. (Taeyong kinda hates him for it). Curse Jung Jaehyun for being friends with everyone in campus.

"I'll talk to him when the time is right," Taeyong replies, more to himself than to Jaehyun. He hurriedly busies himself with his chemistry book, which is now the right side up, once he sees the cute brunette making his way over to the table he's at. Target is approaching.

"Hey Jaehyun," Sicheng smiles politely at the older, offering a small wave despite carrying three books in his hands. He doesn't look like he's planning on talking to either of them, only saying hi because he's just so goddamn friendly. Taeyong is semi grateful for that, he's still not used to how nice the younger's voice actually sounds like when it's right next to him. He grins at Taeyong, who had completely covered his whole face with the chem book as he attempts to hide the blush rising on his cheeks, because holy shit- he made eye contact with Sicheng.

"Hi- Taehyung...?" Sicheng awkwardly trails off, unsure of the older's name, and from the corner of his eye, Jaehyun visibly winces, opening his mouth to correct Sicheng, only to be stopped by Taeyong kicking his shin from under the table. Before he knows it, Sicheng walks away and Taeyong loses his chance to say 'hey' back.

"Why didn't you correct-" Jaehyun starts but is cut off by the older who has is hands pressed against his alarmingly red cheeks.

"He just- he just talked to me."

"He did," Jaehyun says pointedly, playing with the tiny mountain of eraser dust he gathered on their library table. "He got your name wrong though."

Taeyong can only shrug at this point, his head still a fuzzy mess from his encounter with Sicheng. He's so whipped it doesn't matter to him if the latter gets his name wrong. If Sicheng thinks his name is Taehyung, then his name is Taehyung. Plus, it's not like it matters to him anyway. All he's thinking about is the fact that he just got noticed.

  
-

  
_( "Dude, can you stop smiling? It's starting to get creepy." )_ __

  
-

 

Of course Jaehyun chooses tonight of all nights to drag Taeyong and his miserable self out to party, when he's at his lowest point, listening to music ranging from awkwardly sappy pop music to i-hate-everyone-except-for-the-love-of-my-life hardcore screamo emo music on his newly made spotify playlist. It's only now that he realizes, there's no way Sicheng is ever gonna talk to him with the rate he's going at, casually 'bumping' into him in the mall, 'accidentally' dropping his books at the exact moment Sicheng passes by him in the hallway, and more humiliating scenarios that he does not want to remember. He needs to level up his game, and he is trying his very best, yet his best isn't enough, because up until now, Sicheng still can't get his name right.

"I'm leaving at exactly ten o'clock," Taeyong informs Jaehyun right before they reach the doorstep of the house party the younger insisted on attending. He sets an alarm on his phone for ten pm. "With or without you."

Jaehyun pouts at this, his lower lip jutting out the way it always does when he wants to get something he wants. "At least make it ten thirty," He pleads with the older, who is purposely ignoring him, glancing at everything else but Jaehyun's puppy face. "You're my ride home."

Taeyong decides not to look at his friend, even when he's already kneeling on the floor with his hands clasped in front of his face. He flickers his gaze over to the car that's making its way to the driveway. Yuta, his biology and math classmate exits first from the driver's seat, then after him is Doyoung, his seat mate in literature. There's another person about to exit the car, but Taeyong's attention goes back to Jaehyun, who is still busy begging on his knees.

"Fine, fine," Taeyong rolls his eyes, extending a hand to pull Jaehyun back on his feet before anyone can see them looking like that. "Ten thirty sharp." He reminds sternly, but his friend had already walked in the house, leaving Taeyong outside looking like he's lost.

"Taeh- Taeyong!" Sicheng's waving hand suddenly appears in front of his face. The older jumps in surprise, clutching his chest to calm his heart when it suddenly dawns on him.

"You actually got my name right this time," He mumbles softly, more to himself than to Sicheng. He quickly realizes that his statement might've offended Sicheng because of the way he said it. He corrects himself before the younger can blurt out his reply. "Not that it bothers me or anything."

Taeyong expects Sicheng to leave the moment he makes eye contact with him. This is one of the the most awkward conversations he's ever had in his entire life, he thinks. He looks down in embarrassment, cursing himself when he sees that his shoelaces are untied. Great, Taeyong shakes his head. Now he can't run away from Sicheng once the conversation gets any more awkward than it already is.

But to his surprise, Sicheng laughs, and it's not one of those awkward ones Taeil, his roommate does when Taeyong accidentally walks in on him attempting to rap with Johnny in their dorm room. Sicheng laughs and it's loud but very endearing. He covers his mouth when he does it and the older thinks he's about to melt on the spot. He's gonna ruin Ten's 'welcome' doormat and it's gonna be covered in melted Taeyong.

"Yeah I did," Sicheng says, his eyes twinkling under the orange lights coming from the light above their heads. "Sorry by the way." He adds as he opens the door to the house, loud party music blasting from the speakers and people kissing by the couch near the window.

Sicheng walks in, muttering 'excuse me' to everyone in his way. He stops when he's about one and a half meters away from Taeyong, who is still standing stiffly by the doorway. He turns to face the dark haired man.

"Well, aren't you coming in?" He asks playfully, eyebrows raised at the dumbfounded boy before him. "It's quite cold outside."

"Yeah," Taeyong snaps out of the daze he's in and nods his head at Sicheng. They both walk to the kitchen at a safe distance. "Do you drink?" He finally has his shit together. He's able to talk to the younger without spacing out.

"No, I don't," The taller man replies, grabbing a red cup lying on the counter and pouring a good amount of grape soda in it. "Do you?"

Taeyong shakes his head, "Nah," he says, also grabbing a red cup on the counter. He looks at the bottle of grape soda and there's about a drop of the purple liquid left inside. Pouting, he puts his empty cup back on the counter.

Sicheng realizes he had finished the bottle of soda. Extending his cup toward Taeyong's direction, he offers an apologetic look. "I didn't realize you might've wanted to drink some for yourself," Sicheng reaches out for Taeyong's free hand and places the cup on his palm when he notices that the latter is not planning on taking it from him.

  
"We can share. I don't mind."

  
-

  
The clock on Sicheng's wrist reads 10:20, and Taeyong feels himself sigh in disappointment when he realizes that they both have to leave soon. Sicheng has a powerpoint to make when he gets home, and Taeyong still has to drive Jaehyun back to their dorms.

So far, they've spent a good two hours talking to each other in the garden, getting to know each other properly. Sicheng knows Taeyong likes cooking and that he calls his parents everyday after classes. Taeyong knows that Sicheng transferred to Korea just a few months ago and is still trying to learn.

"I heard you're part of a dance group?" Sicheng says as they're both making their way back inside the house. He casually puts his hand on his new friend so that he doesn't get lost on the way back.

"Y-yeah I am," Taeyong shivers against Sicheng's cold fingers that are loosely holding his. It's making his hands sweaty and he hopes Sicheng doesn't notice. He's trying to play it cool. Act like he's unaffected, when in fact, he's having trouble containing his emotions. "Are you interested in joining try outs?" He squints, spotting Jaehyun by the door looking at him with suspicious eyes.

Sicheng nods twice once they reach the door, a playful glint in his eyes. "Yeah, but only if you'll be there," he says jokingly and winks at Taeyong, whose mouth dropped. He looks at Sicheng's unwavering gaze at him, and he swears his heart is about to burst out glitter and confetti. It's not fair, he thinks.

A car honks at them, and it's Doyoung and Yuta calling for their roommate's attention. Doyoung is on the wheel, while the other has his head sticking out of the vehicle, drool coming out of the sides of his open mouth. "Say bye bye to Taeyong, Sicheng," Doyoung says from the driver's seat. "We still have a project to do."

For a moment, the younger actually looks sad he has to go, but Taeyong brushes it off, saying how it's probably because he doesn't want to work on his project. Sicheng pats him on the head before saying goodbye and jogging to the car. Watching the car drive off, he catches a glimpse of Sicheng waving to him with his window rolled down.

The first thing Taeyong does once the car is out of sight is to delete his sad-songs-only spotify playlist.

  
_( "Your face is pretty red, did you drink anything?" Jaehyun asks._

_  
Taeyong just smiles. "No. I'm just really happy." )_

  
-

  
Taeyong sees Sicheng a few days after the party. He can't help but to approach him and say hi. The younger is talking to Doyoung, facing away from him. The red haired bunny man stands immediately once he sees Taeyong coming closer. He smirks at Sicheng, muttering something under his breath that sounded something like, 'lover boy is here'. Taeyong thinks of it as nothing and blames his hearing.

"Hi Sicheng," Taeyong smiles kindly at the boy in front of him, focusing on Sicheng's eyebrows as they go up in surprise. "How did your project go?"

At the sound of the word 'project' the brunette groans loudly, leaning his head against the wall. He pouts cutely and shakes his head, brown hair covering his eyes. "Not so good," He sniffles. "Doyoung and I have to start over."

Taeyong nods understandingly, mouth falling into an 'O' shape. He hesitates on whether or not patting Sicheng's back would be appropriate since they've only spoken properly once. He decides against it and shoves his hands into his pocket, offering to help the younger instead.

"I can help," Taeyong smiles comfortingly. His eyes shift towards Sicheng's lips that are back to a small grin. "If that's okay with you guys."

"It's okay," Sicheng says, playing with the black straps of his bag. "But it is pretty time consuming, so you don't have to."

"But I want to," Taeyong quickly interjects, catching Sicheng off guard. He scolds himself for sounding too eager. "I mean, I'm not really busy these days."

Nodding, Sicheng lets out a soft chuckle. "Okay," He sends a quick text to Doyoung. "So are you free now?" He questions with a light tone.

The older makes a sound at the back of his throat that closely resembled a mouse's squeak. Sicheng is looking at him with his really pretty eyes, and Taeyong's not so sure if he can handle it.

"Yeah I am." He answers.

They walk to the closest place they can find with comfortable seating and a good atmosphere. According to Sicheng, it's his favorite place to be. They go to an ice cream shop that's close to their campus. Taeyong watches in amusement how the younger's eyes light up at the sight of so many ice cream flavors. Sicheng suggests instead of ordering for themselves, they order for each other.

Taeyong picks a spot that's nearest to the big window, and Sicheng laughs happily. "This is my favorite place to be in," He hands the older his cup of ice cream, "Maybe next time, you can choose the location."

The smaller man freezes. 'Next time' replays in his head, and he swallows. "You wanna hang out with me again?" Taeyong questions, pointing at himself.

Sicheng's mouth twitches into a small pout, traces of his smile fading away. "Sorry- I just- I assumed you liked hanging out with me," He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, coughing into his mouth to hide his embarrassment.

"Oh!" Taeyong quickly clarifies, shaking his head quickly as he waves his hands, almost knocking down the napkin dispenser. "You took it the wrong way. I do like hanging out with you. I just thought you didn't like hanging out with me."

He wants to slap himself for making Sicheng's mood drop. He should really be more aware of how he says things. One day, he might hurt someone's feelings for sure. He bites his lower lip in worry as he looks at Sicheng process the words he just said.

The brunette finds himself smiling again, reaching out across the table to hold his elder's hand in an assuring way. He grins so hard his nose crinkles. "Well, I do," Sicheng says, watching how Taeyong's tensed shoulders go down in relief. "I like it a lot."

  
-

_  
( It's around six in the evening when the two finish working on the project. Empty cups of ice cream laying on their sides as they rolled about, bits and pieces of cookie crumbs, sprinkles and marshmallows scattered on the table. At around six fifteen, Sicheng ditches sitting across Taeyong in favor of sitting next to him._

_"Is this considered a date?" He asks innocently, playing with the colorful bits of candy on his hand._

_Taeyong chokes on his saliva. Scratching his head, he shrugs. "Only if you want it to be."_

_"Okay," Sicheng nods carefully._

_"Then it's a date." )_

 

**Author's Note:**

> aaaaa i hope you guys enjoyed!!! it sucks but i really enjoyed writing this!
> 
> feedback is really appreciated so let me know what you think!


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